GROOVE BOX MACHINES - THE GROOVEBOX DATABASE

Akai MPC2000, MPC2000XL 44.1 kHz 16bit, Midi, MTC, SCSI.. (FAT16), extra midi port (32channels) for external synth control, HArdware: MPC2000 (and 3k) 286's running at 16MHz. Simultaneously (they deliver 32 audio tracks, 4 busses of effects and 32 channels of midi) built 1996 / 32x polyphonic + real time sequencerafter the MPC60 this was the one that may define the term "groovebox", sample based workstation for beats and club sound. not the perfect live performance but works.. more..

Akai MPC3000 44.1 kHz 16bit, Midi, MTC, SCSI.. (FAT16) built 1994 / 16x polyphonic + real time sequencerafter the MPC60 this was the one that may define the term "groovebox", sample based workstation for beats and club sound. not the perfect live performance but works.. more..

Akai MPC1000, MPC1000BK 44.1 kHz 16bit, Midi, MTC, SCSI, USB.. (FAT16, WAV), extra midi port (32channels) for external synth control, bk version is black and adds HD.
envelopes are simple decay level and time per filter. built 2004 / 32x polyphonic + real time sequencersuccessor of the MPC2000XL, first without Delay (but now part of the update..) , has USB to exchange sounds to the computer (and back), BK Version with HD. more..

Beatkangz Beat Thang Memory is limited by the SD card used. but RAM is 256MB.
2x 32GB SD Cards Steckplätze, 2x USB, for more memory or computer exchange.
no TR-style programming. built 2010 / 16x polyphonic + real time sequencerthis machine came from Hiphop people with funny approach when it was released.
they wanted a newer more modern MPC with more memory and USB/SD Cards.
it started off at 1k€ and went down to about 650€ in early 2013. more..

Dave Smith Tempest HPF no reso, 2 Pole with just a few Reso. As known from the other DSIs
the pads are both pressure sensitive and allow to play dynamically, also has TR mode built 2011 / 6x polyphonic + TR sequencerpossibly the most complex analog drum machine which is a not modeling per instrument (BD,SD..) but a full 4 OSC synth. the envelopes are AD more..

Elektron Monomachine , SFX60 "SuperWave", SID (MOS5481) C64 emulation, Wavetable/digital (inkl drums), vocal synth, FM (simple models 2 OP etc..), 64 steps, the filters are per voice of course (multimode 24dB/oct), can handle midi controllers, even to external synths (ok, it's not made for it but it CAN do it..) built 2004 / 6x polyphonic + TR sequencerworks well along with the monomachine: the synth from elektron based on 6 voices with multi synthesis engine from SID emulation to FM.. more..

Elektron Monomachine Mk II, SFX60Mark II "SuperWave", SID (MOS5481) C64 emulation, Wavetable/digital (inkl drums), vocal synth, FM (simple models 2 OP etc..), 64 steps, the filters are per voice of course (multimode 24dB/oct), can handle midi controllers, even to external synths (ok, it's not made for it but it CAN do it..), whats new is it's slimmer design and samples that can be loaded into the Monomachine Mk2
6 track internal sequencer
6 track external MIDI sequencer
5x Monosynths
6x tape-style tempo-synced delays
18x tempo synced LFO’s
Full realtime control
Dual DSP system
Six audio outputs
Two audio inputs
Compact hi-quality design
Large back-lit LCD
Full MIDI implementation
User waveforms* built 2007 / 6x polyphonic + TR sequencerThe new monomachine mark 2 is slimmer and allows your own waves to be loaded into the machine, works well along with the monomachine: the synth from elektron based on 6 voices with multi synthesis engine from SID emulation to FM. more..

Elektron Octatrack special modes reverse, filtering, 8 stereo tracks
offers 2 FX per track, sort of Variphrase technology (variOs / Ableton Live) to match with the new tempo and time stretch in real time.
pitching & reversing and changing all "steps" of the sampled beat/loop.
can mute or set any volume to any step like the parameter locks on monomachine or machine drum built 2010 / 8x polyphonic + TR sequencersort of looper/slice player for samples like sort of the SP555 or Korg Electribe SX slice parts with 64 steps from SD card 64GB in size more..

Elektron Analog Rytm structure is:
noise + analog drum synth + sample
makes 2 oscs in our kind of dictionary but it's 3 sources. built 2014 / 8x polyphonic + TR sequencerthe first time for Elektron to introduce dynamic pads and the MPC style principle - but it is still a 4x16 step sequencer
sonically & technically - a new line of analog synths that comprise of analog components that are connected digitally.
this time it's making little drum synths (machines) that create bass drums, snares…
per Pad - or let's say 8 in total along with a sample playback engine that allows some of your fav stuff can be saved, but not too much more.
also everything can be tonally played. not just one pitch.
more..

Ensoniq Asr X per voice there are 2 VCOS that have (each) 1 LFO, 3x ENVs and 1 filter, so one layer is 2 OSCs with 6 ENVS and 2 filters , there are 4 layers (called sound), thats a LOT!! the transwave function works like a long sample that is being scanned to get only ONE cycle to "scan" through by envelope.. the result is very much like a wavetable.. very cool digital FX by prosoniq and waveboy for multi delays, reverb, real time stretching, reso-filters and room simulators, some allow very cool lofi FX and digital stuff.. (extra FX not included by ensoniq), loads sounds while playing.. built 1997 / 31x polyphonic + advanced sequencervery much like a downsized ASR10 with somewhat reduced architecture when made on the ASR-X, because you can only assign to the Pads instead of the full keyboard.
the Prosoniq and Waveboy Effects will not work because it has a different FX-Chip (shich isn't bad but different) but has resonant filters instead.
fully compatible to ASR10 patches/sounds and will even load full instruments, so maybe a nice addition to an ASR, then? more..

Korg Electribe SX1, ESX1 3 FX busses, valve amp at master out, 25MB ram samples exchangeable via smartcard slot - reads ES1 sounds/patterns (about 93% "the same") - sampling electribe.. announced to be out in october 2003 (well, ..) has: 9 one shot samples, 2 loop samples (follow the tempo change!) called stretch part, and the well known slicer (the es has it ,too) aaand: play melodies : 2 tracks are reserved for this.. so if you want a seuqencer for some gear: get the mx (see below!!) .. or find 2 melodic track good enough (there are only 4 melodic electribes out.. mx,sx,m and a).. anyway the sample capacity grew to 4.75mins samping (about 4 times more), the FX are like the mx: 3 FX chain. and you can save your pattern while playing (new, also in mx) also: 8 16-step sections, filters and envelope (very small one) and /or lfo. so: this is a nice sample-workstation for groovers.. the slice is somewhat improved: you can extract a sample and put it on a pad.. it's been taken from the triton series.. or the es1.. mail von korg: /mail from korg filter difference Mx vs. Sx: the mx has also a drive parameter. both have lpf,hpf,bpf and bpf+ (which is quite large). all with resonance. DIE PREISE und RELEASEDATES / PRICES / RELEASE DATE: MX und SX were out 2003 Der Preis wird bei ca. 800,- Euro liegen. (Unverbindliche Preisempfehlung) price is 800 Euro street: 720. KORG ESX1 OS: the OS is currently at 1.02 find out current version by holding down Shift + Pattern Key when Power on.. almost slightly debugged compared to earlier versions.. dont try this at home: hold cursor up and down and now you can update.. no idea about finding the current version ;) os 1.02 is now the most recent version .you can check this by checking your normalize menu, if you can set it to +12dB boost and the display says "Nrm/Lvl" it is alredy updated.. at least to 1.01.. if it says "Normaliz" it is still at 1.00 updates: some bug fixes in 1.02
- software editor for OS X and Windows (Java): esx wave organizer recommended - it's slashdot.com - a free project, just search for it.
- replacing Tubes / Valves:
the test mode is here:
ERASE + PATTERN & POWER ON: Internal test,
ERASE + STEP EDIT & POWER ON: Adjustment of valve circuit, L/R balance
calibration, Tube gain balance measurement
SHIFT + DRUM PART 1 & POWER ON: Internal skip
SHIFT + DRUM PART 3 & POWER ON: Audio test built 2003 / 40x polyphonic + TR sequencerthe sample based Electribe of the newer Generation, access and writing patterns while playing (!) , slice part and 2 tempo adaption tracks (called stretch)
yes, you can control external synths (2 melodic ones with 2 MIDI Channels and the rest is one MIDI Channel and one Note per Drum Pad) more..

Korg Electribe MX1, EMX1 3 FX busses, valve amp at master out, beside it's real new look it is bigger than the electribe series you can record up to 24 movements of the knobs!! new VALVE electribe from korg!! the electribe mx! has 5 tracks of moss - like synths, touch-ribbon-like controller, 128 steps (!!!!) 3 FX, the vac. tube sound is the specialty but the arper and smart card and some synthesis features (reduced coming from the moss synths) you got 2 paramters to control vpm,unison,chord osc,pcm/samples (internal only!),wave shape (1 osc shapes another),comb,additive,207 drumsounds, 76 synth waves, multi mode filter (bpf,lpf,hpf,bpf+) ,lfo,eg .. remember: it is a groovebox, so do not expect very complex patches.. but you got quite a lot of synth methods.. bpm detector (audio) lots ot motiono sequences! (recording of CCs) arpeggiator! the arpers ribbon can be used to set gate length and many more.. so it is not only an arper but a "groove modulizer" ;) FX: beside the known ones it has a talking modulator and a grain machine that can be used to "splatter" and scatter and mangle the sounds. it does not allow real "stopping" in a sample - it sounds very much like a delay-fx.. does this sound like a v-synth? ;) well.. NO!! this is an interesting "new school"-type of FX!!.. you can chain up to 3 FX units now!!.. imagine 2 grainalizers in a row!!.. it is more a resonator kind of fx.. out in JUNE/august 2003 - not final design (the screws will of course not show up in the final version-- so you will not scratch your hands (well , I got no probs with this..).. just for the record ;) - the "tb303-type knobs" are bit smaller then the tb and made of metal/alu. ..btw: you can NOT use YOUR samples, the emx 1 is a "groove synthesizer" so do not try to compare it with mc909 or rs7000 but as a successor of the electribe m or better: the deluxe model!!.. but it HAS some samples for drums etc.. has 5 monophonic tracks and 9 drum tracks!! still the best live-able sequencer atm.. A SHORT "TRICK" for MX series - need another hihat? a cymbal of TR808 style?: you need another hihat or electronic cymbal? just select unison mode, set it to 6 saw , put parameter 1 (detune) to maximum and the second OSC pitch to 0. now set the filter to hpf, add 11 o'clock drive and resonance and 14:00 o'clock filter and env int. - now you can set the env eg to falling wave (not the gate) and adjust the decay here.. voila: a playable hihat sound!
replacing Tubes / Valves:
the test mode is here:
ERASE + PATTERN & POWER ON: Internal test,
ERASE + STEP EDIT & POWER ON: Adjustment of valve circuit, L/R balance
calibration, Tube gain balance measurement
SHIFT + DRUM PART 1 & POWER ON: Internal skip
SHIFT + DRUM PART 3 & POWER ON: Audio test built 2003 / 40x polyphonic + TR sequencerthe VA/synthesis based Electribe of the newer Generation, access and writing patterns while playing (!) , 5 melody tracks - it has 2 indiv. outs the arp'er can be controlled via ribbon and slider: add more or less notes and the way it reacts with them! ext. signals can run through FX,used as osc or filters. patterns can be saved while play! 3 FX sections (serial/parallel) 4 filter types incl resonance, lfo (bom synchable), valve sound - röhrensound/zerrung 8 takte/measures = 128 steps machbar/able. FX wählbar pro pad (wie auch bisher) aber accent und swing pro part abschaltbar!!) you can switch off accent or swing PER PAD!! auto bpm sync to external signals! midi clockable lfo can be assigned to multiple destinations 207 drum and lead sounds as pcm, but no samples reso filters for those 5 monophonic tracks, but you can use a so called unison osc to simulate chords! the ribbon generates notes, the slider allowes some "jamming".. this can be used to generate slow or very fast notes (drums or melodic) so this is some kind of arpeggiator and event generator.. not bad for breaks.
yes, you can control external synths (5 melodic ones with 5 MIDI Channels and the rest is one MIDI Channel and one Note per Drum Pad) more..

Korg Electribe S, ES1Mk 2 32khz, 16bit sampling 4MB, simple env, filter (no reso), reverse play (sample), FX, roll (flam) for repeating steps faster than the grid (good for dnb etc..) DIFFERENCE the smaller tribes all have things in common: they all have 4 measures (64steps = 16x4)), the big ones (MX,SX) have 8 (128steps=16x8). the X/big ones also have 3 FX busses and more synthesis features and Standard Controllers whilst the smaller ones use NRPN Controllers (csacaded controllers, can be recorded but hard to edit). also the big ones can write a pattern while playing and will save the pattern with the current MUTE settings. the smaller ones can be edited while playing, too but to store the pattern you need to stop the machine, the mutes are always ignored, so you need to mute it all with quick fingers when going to another pattern on the smaller ones.. ah, the big ones got the valves in it.. but you can only use them on master out.. anyway the big ones got a better routing and 4 outs (instead of just 2) the mk2 tribes offer almost the same exept the mod delay replaces the wah effect and on the r mk2 crossmodulation replaces ringmod. the sample tribes: the tribe S / ES / ES1 (or the mk2 version which is the same but with nicer metal case and silver instead of green): all work with 4MB of ram and 32khz, the ESX has a real filter with envelope and resonance, you can set the start point and have the LFO for mod purpose and 44.1khz sample rate! and of course much ore RAM: 25MB and more memories (256 instead of 99 on the es1) the es and sx are the only SAMPLE based tribes! there are rom based samples in the MX and M ! but you can not use your own samples here.. the mx is a synthesizer, a bit like a smaller version of the korg prophecy.. ;) means: you got FM (PD) kind of models along with sync or even chords.. but you only got very few parameters that get to live using the motion recording / lfos etc.. the first smaller tribes (EA and ER) do not provide velocity control ,you need to record the level with motion record!! there is no accent! and no rolls (thats the korg word for retriggering a sound within the 16step grid with double or more speed .. for snare rolls and dnb kind of stuff or autechre like hihat clounds.. ;)) melodies: can only be made with the melody tracks on tribes a,m,mx,sx,a mk2.. if you want it to control midi gear you need them! if you do not need to control external synths you can just record the pitch on an ES1,r,r mk2 and play "melodies" with the drumparts!! no problem! but it will trigger the same midi note..!! the drum parts can also be used for this!! so you can also "play melodies" on any tribe but it will still send only ONE note pitch via midi because the pitch is stored and controlled via "motion control" .. you can reacord midi keyboard played notes or use the step keys as a keyboard or use the step mode.. built 2000 / 24x polyphonic + TR sequencerthe sample based Electribe of the older Generation, but with a new look (called mk2 then) access realtime + step edit on patterns while playing (!) , slice part with 64 steps. want to use the electribe as a sequencer for synthesizers connected via midi? well yyou should then go for an electribe that has a melody part: these are ESX, EMX, EA, EM (read: sx,mx,a,m). they all have at least 2 melody parts, the mx has 5 of them to control internal or/and external synthesizers/samplers. if you want to trigger a drum module it is ok to use all other tribes as well!!
you can control a drum synth with this tribe, but just one channel, each pad sends out a different note message, so no melodic parts possible. more..

Korg Electribe A, EA1Mk 2 simple env, filter reso,delay FX,no roll (flam) for repeating steps faster than the grid. 64 steps. sync, ringmod. DIFFERENCE the first smaller tribes (EA and ER) do not provide velocity control ,you need to record the level with motion record!! there is no accent! and no rolls (thats the korg word for retriggering a sound within the 16step grid with double or more speed .. for snare rolls and dnb kind of stuff or autechre like hihat clounds.. uses NRPN controllers (can be controlled by midi). melodies: can only be made with the melody tracks on tribes a,m,mx,sx,a mk2.. if you want it to control midi gear you need them! if you do not need to control external synths you can just record the pitch on an ES1,r,r mk2 and play "melodies" with the drumparts!! no problem! but it will trigger the same midi note..!! the drum parts can also be used for this!! so you can also "play melodies" on any tribe but it will still send only ONE note pitch via midi because the pitch is stored and controlled via "motion control" .. you can reacord midi keyboard played notes or use the step keys as a keyboard or use the step mode.. built 1999 / 2x polyphonic + TR sequencera little synthesizer, or better: 2 mono synths with 64step sequencer plus Delay FX.
you can control 2 external synths (monophonic of course). more..

Korg Electribe R, ER1Mk 2 simple env, filter reso,delay FX,no roll (flam) for repeating steps faster than the grid. 64 steps. sync, ringmod. DIFFERENCE the first smaller tribes (EA and ER) do not provide velocity control ,you need to record the level with motion record!! there is no accent! and no rolls (thats the korg word for retriggering a sound within the 16step grid with double or more speed .. for snare rolls and dnb kind of stuff or autechre like hihat clounds.. uses NRPN controllers (can be controlled by midi). melodies: can only be made with the melody tracks on tribes a,m,mx,sx,a mk2.. if you want it to control midi gear you need them! if you do not need to control external synths you can just record the pitch on an ES1,r,r mk2 and play "melodies" with the drumparts!! no problem! but it will trigger the same midi note..!! the drum parts can also be used for this!! so you can also "play melodies" on any tribe but it will still send only ONE note pitch via midi because the pitch is stored and controlled via "motion control" .. you can reacord midi keyboard played notes or use the step keys as a keyboard or use the step mode.. built 1999 / 8x polyphonic + TR sequencera little drum synthesizer, with 64step sequencer plus Delay FX.
you can control one external drum synth - the drum parts also send midi but just one channel but different notes. more..

Korg Electribe M, EM1 simple env, filter , FX,roll (flam) for repeating steps faster than the grid. 64 steps. groove synth und sequencer - extrem livetauglich!.. schwarz: there is an editor available for the small m: www.midiweb.de its basically a rompler with some non-user-replaceble samples but it is the quickest "music notebook/scratchbook" you can have for this price.. when I say quick i mean: you need minimum time for making a song ready to produce.. DIFFERENCE the first smaller tribes (EA and ER) do not provide velocity control ,you need to record the level with motion record!! there is no accent! and no rolls (thats the korg word for retriggering a sound within the 16step grid with double or more speed .. for snare rolls and dnb kind of stuff or autechre like hihat clounds.. uses NRPN controllers (can be controlled by midi). melodies: can only be made with the melody tracks on tribes a,m,mx,sx,a mk2.. if you want it to control midi gear you need them! if you do not need to control external synths you can just record the pitch on an ES1,r,r mk2 and play "melodies" with the drumparts!! no problem! but it will trigger the same midi note..!! the drum parts can also be used for this!! so you can also "play melodies" on any tribe but it will still send only ONE note pitch via midi because the pitch is stored and controlled via "motion control" .. you can reacord midi keyboard played notes or use the step keys as a keyboard or use the step mode.. built 2001 / 10x polyphonic + TR sequencera little rompler the can be used a music/composing tool, with 64step sequencer plus FX. 50 synthesizer and 144 drum ROM Sounds, not re-released as mk2.
you can control 2 external synths (monophonic of course) and the drum parts also send midi but just one channel but different notes. more..

Korg Volca Beats MIDI Input for Clock-Signal.
since there's just a MIDI-in the Volca series and some other analog gear are equipped with simple trigger signal in/outs, so one machine will be the interface to the analog clock signal to sync up the others. built 2013 / 6x polyphonic + TR sequencersort of mini Electribe, just a hand's size and analog. it reminds of a KPR Drum machine but with Electribe-kind of user interface.
it's a motion sequencer inside, so you can automate the parameters, 12, ok 13 for pcm speed.
well, it's only 16 steps, but maybe there will be some a/b system after updates? but it has 2 nice performance additions:
- stutter effect (with automation)
- active step allows to keep it running through some of the steps (the tribes could not do this) more..

Korg Volca Bass Decay is set by the Release knob (or vice versa)
fast LFO
MIDI Input for Clock-Signal.
since there's just a MIDI-in the Volca series and some other analog gear are equipped with simple trigger signal in/outs, so one machine will be the interface to the analog clock signal to sync up the others. built 2013 / monophonic + TR sequencersort of mini Electribe, just a hand's size and analog. Electribe-kind of user interface. monophonic with 3 VCO
it's a motion sequencer inside, so you can automate the parameters.
well, it's only 16 steps, but maybe there will be some a/b system after updates? but it has a nice performance addition:
- active step allows to keep it running through some of the steps (the tribes could not do this) more..

Korg Electribe 2 16 FX (per pad/track)
1 master fx
quite like Kaoss Pad 2 or Radias
- lot better sound quality compared to the EMX1
- synthesis to be chosen from 54 models within 408 samples and audio in but just one edit - so FM and stuff means to choose a basic frequency in the model and control the other OSC - just like a reduced KingKorg OSC. built 2014 / 24x polyphonic + TR sequencerThe Electribe 2 is a follow up on the Electribe MX series. It's still 2 Tribes coming from Korg in 2014/2015 with the same orientation - the MX is a synth with several synth models and ROM samples and the sampler with free RAM for your own stuff.
the most important things are:
- 4 instead of 8 x 16 steps length per pattern
- Full dynamic rang instead of Accents from dynamic Pads in realtime recording
- 4x polyphonic per Track/Instrument
- 16 free melodic tracks (compared to just 5 with drum tracks these are free in use and all tonal)
- Groove Templates allow microtiming control
- Step Jump allows to play just the steps you "play"
- Analog sync in and out for the Volca series
do not confuse this synth with the black identical sequencer Electribe Sampler 2s which doesn't have the moog, roland, sci-style filters but some synth functions and sampling of your own stuff that can be uploaded via SD. more..

Korg Electribe Sampler 2S, 2S, Sampler 2S, s 2 1 effect per track
16 tracks
1 master effect
freely assignable (thats new) if you want 4 voice melodic tonal samples or loop/slices built 2015 / 24x polyphonic + TR sequencerthe 3rd sample based Electribe after S and ESX, access and writing patterns while playing (!).
Not to confuse with the grey Electribe 2 with identical sequencer but with more filter types (korg, moog, SCI..) and with more synth features https://www.sequencer.de/syns/korg/Electribe2.html .
4x polyphonic per track compared to monophonic and full dynamics compared to accent or no accent is now possible.
sample length is almost the same - 270 secs which are 48kHz and not only for this reason of higher quality.
slicer/looper or melodic polyphonic track for MIDI/and sampled sound can be used on each of the 16 tracks which is a lot more freedom compared to the previous machine, but there's just 64 steps instead of 128. more..

Radikal Spectralis 2 filters (one moog style analog filter): 24 dB/oct LPF and 12 dB/oct multimode for synth section, freely assignable, lots of VCAs (40) and modulation routings, even 4 OP FM can be done, very hi resolution sequencer (192), usb 2 for sample exchange.
it's 10 LFOs in the Hybrid Synth, the DSP Synth has 2 LFOs and 2 ENVs. the Hybridsynth has about 12 built 2005 / 65x polyphonic + TR sequencerThe Spectralis is a deluxe live sequencer (chase light style) with high resolution and 32 independent tracks that can control any parameter in the machine, it can even have it's own start point or envelopes, the synth engine offers sample voices (64 mono / 32 stereo) and a hybrid synth with 2 filters (one moog style analog filter): 24 dB/oct LPF and 12 dB/oct multimode more..

Roland MC303 the mc303.. ok this needs not to be mentioned.. just a joke.. they tried to re-invent the tb303.. but it was "just" a sample player and a step sequencer (lots of things seem not to be "brained out" because the step mode can only be entered in a special "record" mode and there is only ONE temporary buffer for edits!!! same on newer mc grooveboxes (mc505 , mc307, mc909 all do not provide real time edit of steps.. so you need to get a korg electribe .. strange, huh?) .. so they had to make some more MCs lateron.. most is not really perfect.. and its not analogue sounding.) anyway the beginning of very good composition tools like the korg electribes etc.. keep on reading in the SEQ section!! the mc505 is/has been a quite good extension to the mc303, usable sequencer and jv sound generation (means the standard roland rompler sound - no meant any bad here.. see roland) TR mode and a pattern can be up to 31 measures long.. very good so far and 16 tracks - but even the new mc909 is NOT able to be edited while it runs in play mode.. so: this is designed for "input" only. not for changing on stage any steps as possible in the TR808 or jomox xbase or abnove mentioned electribe.. so this the odd point on the mc303 ,too.. it had a quite interesting and not-so limitied- successor: mc307 (of course same problem see above) but has all nice stuff in for sequencing!.. the mc307 is a "betweener" mc303 and mc505.. the mc909 has samples, velocity sensitve pads (16) and a complete JV section incl USB interface.. very good.. they all seem to have no cool "fast roll/flam" funtionality.. as seen on electribe.. but beside the obove problems the mc series is very good to use.. the sound is average or jv-like. so expect to go along with a nice analogue synth or something.. (nord modular or what you like).. ah: the mc303 is not sounding like a tb303 - but you didn''t expect it to sound like it,do you? *g* built 1996 / 28x polyphonic + TR sequencerif something really defines what a groovebox is, this is it: a tr-chase light sequencer with real simple sound generation for live performance.. performing? .. well, the MC problem is still there: no step edit while playing (others can do it, why none of the mcs?), the mc307 is an extended verson of the MC303 with more rom (16MB) and more voices (64) more..

Roland MC505, EG101, JX305 now it's much more than the first mcs with 3 envs and LFOs with quite a lot of waveforms - but it was "just" a sample player and a step sequencer (lots of things seem not to be "brained out" because the step mode can only be entered in a special "record" mode and there is only ONE temporary buffer for edits!!! same on newer mc grooveboxes (mc505 , mc307, mc909 all do not provide real time edit of steps.. so you need to get a korg electribe .. strange, huh?) .. so they had to make some more MCs lateron.. most is not really perfect.. and its not analogue sounding.) anyway the beginning of very good composition tools like the korg electribes etc.. keep on reading in the SEQ section!! the mc505 is/has been a quite good extension to the mc303, usable sequencer and jv sound generation (means the standard roland rompler sound - no meant any bad here.. see roland) TR mode and a pattern can be up to 31 measures long.. very good so far and 16 tracks - but even the new mc909 is NOT able to be edited while it runs in play mode.. so: this is designed for "input" only. not for changing on stage any steps as possible in the TR808 or jomox xbase or abnove mentioned electribe.. so this the odd point on the mc303 ,too.. it had a quite interesting and not-so limitied- successor: mc307 (of course same problem see above) but has all nice stuff in for sequencing!.. the mc307 is a "betweener" mc303 and mc505.. the mc909 has samples, velocity sensitve pads (16) and a complete JV section incl USB interface.. very good.. they all seem to have no cool "fast roll/flam" funtionality.. as seen on electribe.. but beside the obove problems the mc series is very good to use.. the sound is average or jv-like. so expect to go along with a nice analogue synth or something.. (nord modular or what you like).. ah: the mc303 is not sounding like a tb303 - but you didn''t expect it to sound like it,do you? *g* built 1998 / 64x polyphonic + TR sequencermore extended MC307/303 , this time with much more sound stuff like full ADSR control.. the JX305 is the Keyboard Version of the MC505, the EG101 adds the SP202 groove loop sampler and a keyboard, too. The EG looks strange with its speakers.
In Fact it is a full JV1080 like Rompler with 4x Layering more..

Roland MC909 a full JV synthesizer like the JV1080 incl structures and layers (4x), full access via knobs, in fact it is a sampling JV synthesizer with loop slicer , thats not a bad thing, another real cool feature: dynamic pads for TR-type chase light sequencing which is really a pleassure, the only real bad thing is still the MC-sickness of how to record a sequence: press record, choose what kind of sequening then do the real sequencing, stop the machine and save it somewhere, after that: no edits while playing.. you need to use this record mode again.. lease that "bug" out and this is one of the cooles and d-beam controlled groove machine you can get.. (faster envs aren't bad, too..) built 2000 / 64x polyphonic + TR sequencerok, this is the successor of the mc505 but more true is: it is a JV-Synth plus a Sampler with a cool sequencer, dbeams and velocity sensitive pads.. cool, but it still has problems to record in realtime without stopping the engine.. more..

Roland SP505, SP606 loop tool for manual playing and "flying in" samples.. can also play every single sounds of a loop and can split/assigned onto the pads.. built 2002 / 8x polyphonic + simple sequencera loop tool with FX, the smaller machines (202+303) are more lofi, the newest (404) is more extended fo longer loops, SP606 is a real loop specialist.. the real weak point is the sequencer which is really simple real time one that allows 4 tracks and is no way something like the TR stuff..so the stage performer will play the loops by hand.. no more, no less.. btw: Boss is "equal" to Roland.. the smaller SPs are Boss Products.. more..

Roland D2 The Envelopes are all 7 or 8 parameter-multisegment ones! The filters are all ok exept the strange clipping at a certain level of resonance with some waveforms. full control via Midi SysEx. ringmod can be placed between the 4 layers: this is the prototype of Rolands following JV series and lots more.8MB ROM waves. FXM = sort of FM with square wave (depth and colour) 10 structures instead of 6 on the JD990 (added boost), the sequencer allows step and realtime input via midi , but it is not really made for performance but it can be used as a performance tool when you do not need to edit notes on stage.. the 2d pad allows playing sequences backwards, modulate it and play around with it, so it in fact a good live tool for THAT reason. has cinch out only (well, a bit too much "DJ" stuff, huh?), midi in + out, only soft thru. built 2001 / 64x polyphonic + midi sequencerneed computer edit and to work , it is technically a JV1080/2080 incl structures, it looks like a dart-game because of its 2D pad which is very flexible, but it is not as easy to ue as a groove machine since it has no real chase light sequencing, with a midi keyboard this works ok with realtime and step input.. more..

Roland SP202, SP303 loop tool for manual playing and "flying in" samples.. can also play every single sounds of a loop and can split/assigned onto the pads.. built 1999 / 8x polyphonic + simple sequencerthe smaller SP series were made for DJin loop tool with FX and filters, the smaller machines (202+303) are more lofi, the newer one (sp404) is more extended fo longer loops, SP606 is a real loop specialist.. the real weak point is the sequencer which is really simple real time one that allows 4 tracks and is no way something like the TR stuff..so the stage performer will play the loops by hand.. no more, no less.. btw: Boss is "equal" to Roland.. the smaller SPs are Boss Products.. more..

Roland SP404 loop tool for manual playing and "flying in" samples.. can also play every single sounds of a loop and can split/assigned onto the pads.. 24 samples / pattern, works (also) with batteries! built 2005 / 12x polyphonic + simple sequencera loop tool with FX, the smaller machines (202+303) are more lofi, the newest (404) is more extended fo longer loops, SP606 is a real loop specialist.. the real weak point is the sequencer which is really simple real time one that allows 4 tracks and is no way something like the TR stuff..so the stage performer will play the loops by hand.. no more, no less.. btw: Boss is "equal" to Roland.. the smaller SPs are Boss Products.. more..

Roland MC808 in fact it is a sampling synthesizer with loop slicer - mc909 minus JV, thats not a bad thing, another real cool feature: dynamic pads for TR-type chase light sequencing which is really a pleassure, the only real bad thing is still the MC-sickness of how to record a sequence: press record, choose what kind of sequening then do the real sequencing, stop the machine and save it somewhere, after that: no edits while playing.. you need to use this record mode again.. lease that "bug" out and this is one of the cooles and d-beam controlled groove machine you can get.. (faster envs aren't bad, too..) built 2006 / 128x polyphonic + TR sequencera smaller mc909 but without JV controls but still with recycle kind of sampling engine a Sampler with a cool sequencer, d-beams and velocity sensitive pads.. cool, but it still has problems to record in realtime without stopping the engine.. big sample area: 512 MB. nice studio tool.
You should use the editor for editing the synthesizer section (jv1080), which shares the voices with the sampling section. more..

Roland SP555 loop tool for manual playing and "flying in" samples.. can also play every single sounds of a loop and can split/assigned onto the pads.. 16x8 samples / pattern, works (also) with batteries! built 2008 / 12x polyphonic + simple sequencerBigger Brother of the SP404 (not really the SP505's successor) with 128 Samples.
Has a D-Beam controller. more..

Roland MC307 this machine is sort of a smaller MC505 with a real full multistage envelope synth engine compared to the MC303 it is a lot bigger and better and a nice studio tool as well, you can not edit your step sequencer programming without stopping it, so it is limited for live use, but intuitive enough and there is an editor available which is recommended to make some nice patches. almost underrated in a way. built 1998 / 64x polyphonic + TR sequencerthis is the first full blown JV1080-kind of MC, not as big as the MC505 but more like it compared to the reduced concept of the MC303 with just some Rom-Samples. more..

Roland SP404SX loop tool for manual playing and "flying in" samples.. can also play every single sounds of a loop and can split/assigned onto the pads.. 120 samples / pattern, works (also) with batteries! built 2009 / 12x polyphonic + simple sequencerlike the SP404 but with 8 more Banks, so it's 120 instead of just 24 Pads/Samples.
32GB of data can be saved to card (instead of 2GB. more..

Yamaha DX200 the keyboard sends velocity but max. 120, so something missing from 121 up to 127, remote midi gear might sound "weak" when controlled from the DX7. 16bit DACs and 6 OP FM. 32 algorithms how the OPs (OSCs) are routed. fast lfo. all OPs have velocity control. split or double sounds possible. Controllers can be recorded over 8 measures, the sequencer itself was a chase light 16step sequencer. it can even run backwarts. nice real time control! built 2001 / 48x polyphonic + TR sequencera dx7 (16 voices) with TR style sequencer, a good one! with rom sample section (32 voice) plus FX. more..

Yamaha RM1x the V1.2 update of the RS7000 wasn't available for the rm1x, so it has still lpf filters and no real easy to use grid mode (chase light seq). anyway, it is a good arrangement tool still. easy to use. 3 envs for pitch,filter, amp. and one LFO with lots of waves, as most Yamaha romplers do.. built 1999 / 64x polyphonic + TR sequencerthe RM1x is a Rompler Version of the later RS7000 Sampling Groovebox. It can be edited in Realtime more..

Yamaha RS7000 the V1.2 update of the RS7000 made the rs having multimode filters and real easy to use grid mode (chase light seq). it is a good arrangement tool still. easy to use. 3 envs for pitch,filter, amp. and one LFO, as most Yamaha romplers do.. the remix function allows rearrangement of sample slices (like a random recycle mode), midi divide function in realtme. FX are there but not as cool integrated as in the X-electribes. built 2001 / 320x polyphonic + TR sequencersince V1.2 software the RS7000 allows full chase light sequencing while running, also multimode filters, 64 voices rompler, 256 voices sampler (reminds of A series samplers) + FX more..

Yamaha SU700 loops that auto tempo sync to the main clock, 10 dynamic pads (and some non dynamic ones), all ,even the smalles SU10 have ribbon controllers! no filters/LFO/envs on the su10, SU200: 800KB ram. built 1999 / 64x polyphonic + real time sequencerthe SU700 is what is more based on loops than using samples in traditional way like the SU series in general it is made to change tempo of the beats as you change it in realtime.. dynamic pads: 10 and some endless encoders, too. the smaller SU10 and SU200 are much smaller and more like phrase samplers.. (6 and 4 voices) more..

Yamaha SU200, SU10 loops that auto tempo sync to the main clock, 10 dynamic pads (and some non dynamic ones), all ,even the smalles SU10 have ribbon controllers! no filters/LFO/envs on the su10, SU200: 800KB ram. built 1997 / 6x polyphonic + real time sequencerthe SU200/su10 are more based on loops than using samples in traditional way like the SU series in general it is made to change tempo of the beats as you change it in realtime.. dynamic pads: 10 and some endless encoders, too. the smaller SU10 and SU200 are much smaller and more like phrase samplers.. (6 and 4 voices) - SU200 made in 2000 more..